Evolution, Me, & Other Freaks of Nature by Robin Brande

Have you ever been in a situation where everything you have ever known to be true, all of a sudden just seems so wrong?

Meet Mena. She's grounded for life for taking a stand and her world is crashing right before her very eyes.

Mena has started off the school year in the worst of ways. No one will talk to her. She might as well be a freak of nature because that's exactly how she is being treated. All of her friends have turned their backs on her. She's been kicked out of her church group. Her parents won't even talk to her. You see? Mena committed the most unforgivable act in their eyes. She stood up for someone and by doing so, betrayed everyone in her immediate church circle. But was it really an act of betrayal? Is she just like Judas? That's what Mena is trying to decide.

The fact of the matter is that Mena is a follower of Jesus Christ. She reads her bible, attends church, associates with her church members, and basically steers clear of anything that might be deemed evil. She is a true believer and truly wants to be on the side of goodness. But she has watched and snickered from the sidelines as her church going friends and pastor have taunted, judged, and harassed one young man, in particular, to the point of no return all in the name of God. She stands up and says "no more".

It isn't until Mena meets her science lab partner, Casey and her science teacher, Ms. Shepard that she begins to uncover her own truth behind her actions. Mena has been taught to believe one way and only one way. God is the Creator. Period. If you go against the church, then you go against God. In her view her actions were on the side of God. So what was she to do? In the end, it is because of her actions that a heated debate ensues over the teaching of evolution and that of intelligent design in schools.

This is Mena's story. Her story of her own evolution.

I absolutely loved this novel. Robin Brande held my attention throughout it. I couldn't wait to find out what would happen next. This book really does open the lines of discussion of whether schools should teach the theory of evolution and the alternative theory of intelligent design. It further gives a complete definition of the two which I found to be fascinating. Most people grow up with some belief system and then we are taught the theory of evolution in school. Brande cleverly shows us that perhaps, we don't have to choose between the two.

Aside from a literature class, I think this would be a great novel to explore in a high school science class, religion class, or a philosophy class. I would also love to be the fly on the wall as the debates ensue.